In this 12-part series, the Enquirer looks at the strategy for the Bengals' 2018 draft by counting down the team's positional needs from least pressing to most immediate. Bengals beat writers Jim Owczarski and Paul Dehner, Jr. analyze top players, sleepers, Bengals history, fits and what experts say. The draft is April 26-28 in Dallas.

Positional priority

Fourth of 12. On paper, it seems like the Bengals are set at this position with Tyler Eifert, Tyler Kroft, C.J. Uzomah and Mason Schreck. But the first three are in contract years – and we know about Eifert’s injury history – and Schreck is a complete unknown after missing his rookie year with a knee injury.

Contract status

A glance at what year the current players at the position are signed through and their age on opening day:

Rate the Class

It’s not the strongest class at the top, specifically in comparison to last season. Last year a caravan of tight ends were running in the 4.5s with college tape to back it up. Five tight ends went in the first two rounds. That was the most since 2006. There's a chance two go in the first round, maybe, but there is some intriguing depth that could yield solid pass-catchers if they develop properly.

Bengals’ trend

The Bengals are not afraid to draft a tight end in the first round – or at No. 21 overall, specifically, having done it twice the last eight years. But if they do wait on the position, they tend to look for physical tools that they can develop.

Pro Fooball Focus College Research

The staff at PFF wrote that “the theme of the tight end class is the pass game with a work-in-progress attitude toward run blocking. That’s today’s NFL, however ... or teams looking for viable receiving threats at tight end, there are options to be had on the first two days of the draft.” So let’s look at PFF’s “Drop Rate” signature stat for their top 10 in this class, which adds up all of the catchable balls every player sees come his way and comparing it to the number that he can’t haul in.

Sleepers to track

Deon Yelder, Western Kentucky. The 6-4, 255-pound Louisville native is getting a lot of interest from teams that love pass-catching tight ends, like Green Bay and Kansas City, despite the fact that he’s very raw with one year of experience in college. If the Bengals choose to wait a bit later on a tight end, perhaps with their seventh-round picks or as a priority free agent, Yelder could fill a hole.

Ian Thomas, Indiana. A 6-4, 259-pound dual-threat, Thomas had NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein comparing him to former Bengals first-round pick Jermaine Gresham in his pure strength and grit. One of the top junior college tight ends in the country but didn’t blossom until last year with the Hoosiers. Missed some time in his senior season due to injury but caught 25 passes for 376 yards and five touchdowns. Often hampered in production by poor quarterback play for the Hoosiers.

Bold move

Draft Mike Gesicki out of Penn State in the second round. This would likely mean the team had a first-round grade on the 6-5 tight end but he slid further than expected. He fits the physical profile the Bengals like at 247 pounds and has the athleticism the club covets (4.5-second 40-yard dash, 41.5-inch vertical jump) at the position. He won't have much to offer in the run game, but if the Bengals feel like they can teach competency there his asset sprinting up the seam would be an immediate impact.

They said it

“He might not have that impact rookie year if that's what you’re looking for, but two, three years down the line we’re going to look back at Ian Thomas as being a third- or fourth-round pick and say, wow, he was a steal at that point in the draft. I think this draft has several of those types of guys.”

– Dane Brugler, senior NFL Draft Analyst for NFLDraftScout, on the depth of the position.

“At tight end, I don't know if any of them are going in the first round. I have Hayden Hurst No. 1 because I think he blocks a little bit also, but Dallas Goedert, Mike Gesicki, Mark Andrews, they're all matchup tight ends. Think of Zach Ertz in Philadelphia as a potential example. Ian Thomas from Indiana. … So every year we have the same conversation about college tight ends. There are only a few that will block and then a bunch of receivers, then who fits what scheme the best.” – NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock

Key variable

How the team feels about Tyler Eifert’s health and ability to extend Tyler Kroft. Both are questions that may not be answered until after the 2018 season, but the club could look at these players and feel they need a tight end who could use some development but also would be capable of playing immediately if pressed into duty.

Where they’ll take one

Depending on how they address certain positions in the first two rounds, the Bengals could look at tight end as early as the third round with a good shot at punching the positional ticket in the fourth.

Our prediction

Fourth round: Stanford’s Dalton Schultz would seem to fit the Bengals’ mold and should be available at the beginning of the third day. Cardinal head coach David Shaw, whose team has produced a handful of NFL tight ends in the last few years, feels the 6-6, 242-pound Schultz is one of his more well-rounded prospects (per NFL.com), and while he could use some time growing into an NFL role, he also could fill in and be a target for Andy Dalton if needed.